There's nothing we love more at mom.me than a brand new cookbook. When we first received Vegan Holiday Cooking from Candle Cafe: Celebratory Menus and Recipes from New York's Premier Plant-Based Restaurants, we were excited to try our favorite holiday dishes with a vegan twist. The book makes planning a holiday dinner a total breeze— because the book is organized by holiday, you get a complete menu from start to finish.
Be sure to save room for this fantastic cheesecake, a creative dessert that uses classic Thanksgiving ingredients—pumpkin, apple cider, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The pie and frosting can be made up to 2 days ahead of time.
RECIPE: Pumpkin Cheesecake with Apple Cider Reduction
Yields 8 to 10 slices
Ingredients
- 4 cups vegan cream cheese
- 2 cups agave nectar or maple syrup
- 2 cups plain unsweetened soy milk
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 ½ cups (12 ounces) silken tofu
- 1 cup arrowroot powder
- 1 tablespoon agar powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- apple cider reduction
- Vanilla-Cream Cheese Frosting (optional)
Apple Cider Reduction
- 4 cups apple cider
- 1 cup unrefined sugar
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Vanilla–Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- ½ cup Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread, softened
- ¼ cup baby Thai coconut meat or creamed coconut
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup vegan cream cheese
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Wrap aluminum foil around the bottom and halfway up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan to prevent any leaking.
- Combine the cream cheese, agave, soy milk, pumpkin, tofu, arrowroot, agar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl and stir together. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth and ingredients are fully integrated. This may have tobe done in batches. Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan.
- Put the cheesecake in a large baking pan and fill the pan halfway with hot water. Bake for about 2 hours, until lightlybrowned. Remove, let cool, cover, and refrigerate. The cheesecake can be made up to 2 days ahead of time.
- To make the cider reduction, combine the cider, sugar, and nutmeg in a pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat.Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is reduced by half and is syrupy, 1 to 1½ hours. The reduction can bemade and refrigerated up to 2 hours ahead of time. Bring to room temperature before serving.
- To serve, remove the foil from the pan. Run a knife around the outer edge of the cheesecake and release the spring form pan clamp. Put the cake on a plate or cake stand. Pipe or spread the top of the cheesecake with the frosting. Drizzle the reduction over the cheesecake. Cut into wedges and serve.
- To make the frosting, mix together the confectioners' sugar and buttery spread in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Combine the coconut meat and vanilla extract in a blender and blend for 2 minutes. Transfer to a stand mixer or to a bowl and use a hand mixer. Add the confectioners' sugar mixture and cream cheese and mix thoroughly until a smooth frosting is formed.
Recipe and Image via Vegan Holiday Cooking from Candle Cafe: Celebratory Menus and Recipes from New York's Premier Plant-Based Restaurants
